Each letter with its name, its sound, its shapes at the start, middle and end of a word, and a real word that begins with it. Then a two-minute letter quiz.
Each row gives the letter on its own, its name and sound, then the shapes it takes at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word, each joined to a line where the next or previous letter would sit. The example words are the first ones that start with each letter in Lock&Learn Arabic, every vowel mark shown.
Type to filter by letter, name or sound. Flashcards hides the sound and the shapes until you tap a row; Shuffle deals the letters in a new order.
| Letter | Name | Sound | Start, middle, end | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ا | alif أَلِف | ā: a long a, as in father; it also carries the glottal stop hamza | اـاـا | اِبْنibna son |
| ب | bāʾ بَاء | b: b, as in bed | بــبــب | بَحْرbaḥrsea |
| ت | tāʾ تَاء | t: t, as in ten | تــتــت | تِسْعِينtisʿīnninety |
| ث | thāʾ ثَاء | th: th, as in think | ثــثــث | ثانِيthānīsecond |
| ج | jīm جِيم | j: j, as in jam (a hard g, as in go, in Egypt) | جــجــج | جَزائِرjazāʾiralgeria |
| ح | ḥāʾ حَاء | ḥ: a strong, breathy h from deep in the throat | حــحــح | حارّḥārrhot or burning |
| خ | khāʾ خَاء | kh: kh, as in Scottish loch | خــخــخ | خَمِيسkhamīsThursday |
| د | dāl دَال | d: d, as in dog | دـدـد | دَرَسَdarasato study or learn |
| ذ | dhāl ذَال | dh: th, as in this | ذـذـذ | ذٰلِكَdhālikathat |
| ر | rāʾ رَاء | r: a tapped or rolled r, as in Spanish pero | رـرـر | رُزّruzzrice |
| ز | zāy زَاي | z: z, as in zoo | زـزـز | زَوْجzawjspouse or partner |
| س | sīn سِين | s: s, as in sun | ســســس | ساعَةsāʿahour or clock |
| ش | shīn شِين | sh: sh, as in ship | شــشــش | شَمْسshamssun |
| ص | ṣād صَاد | ṣ: an emphatic s, said with the back of the tongue raised | صــصــص | صِينṣīnChina |
| ض | ḍād ضَاد | ḍ: an emphatic d; Arabic calls itself the language of the ḍād | ضــضــض | ضَحِكَḍaḥikato laugh |
| ط | ṭāʾ طَاء | ṭ: an emphatic t | طــطــط | طَبِيبṭabībmedical doctor |
| ظ | ẓāʾ ظَاء | ẓ: an emphatic th, as in this | ظــظــظ | ظُهْرẓuhrnoon or midday |
| ع | ʿayn عَيْن | ʿ: a voiced squeeze in the throat, with no English equivalent | عــعــع | عِراقʿirāqIraq |
| غ | ghayn غَيْن | gh: a gargled r, like the French r in Paris | غــغــغ | غَدghadtomorrow |
| ف | fāʾ فَاء | f: f, as in fan | فــفــف | فَرَنْسِيّfaransiyyFrench |
| ق | qāf قَاف | q: a k said far back in the throat | قــقــق | قالَqālato say |
| ك | kāf كَاف | k: k, as in kite | كــكــك | كُلّkulleach or every |
| ل | lām لَام | l: l, as in lamp | لــلــل | لَيْلَةlaylaa single night |
| م | mīm مِيم | m: m, as in moon | مــمــم | مَكْسِيكmaksīkthe country mexico |
| ن | nūn نُون | n: n, as in noon | نــنــن | ناسnāsthe people |
| ه | hāʾ هَاء | h: h, as in hat, said even at the end of a word | هــهــه | هُمhumthey |
| و | wāw وَاو | w, ū: w, as in wet, or a long u, as in moon | وـوـو | وَجَدَwajadato find |
| ي | yāʾ يَاء | y, ī: y, as in yes, or a long i, as in machine | يــيــي | يابانyābānthe country japan |
Example words from the Lock&Learn Arabic deck; definitions adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Romanization is generated.
Right to left, joined up. Arabic is written and read from right to left, and most letters join the next one in the word, so every letter has up to four shapes: on its own, at the start of a word, in the middle and at the end. The shapes share a core, the dots and the main stroke, and the joining strokes change around it: ب on its own is بـ at the start of بَيْت (house). Six letters never join the letter after them, ا د ذ ر ز و, so a word breaks after each of them: دَرْس (lesson) is written in three pieces.
Dots matter. Several letters share one shape and differ only in their dots: ب ت ث (one dot below, two above, three above), ج ح خ, د ذ, ر ز, س ش, ص ض, ط ظ, ع غ. Learn the shapes in these families and the 28 letters shrink to about seventeen forms.
Short vowels are marks. The 28 letters are consonants and long vowels; the three short vowels are small marks above or below the letter, the harakat. Everyday Arabic leaves them out and readers supply them from the word, which is why learner books, the Quran and every word in Lock&Learn Arabic show them in full:
| Mark | Name | Sound | On ب | Says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ـَ | fatḥa | a short a | بَ | ba |
| ـِ | kasra | a short i | بِ | bi |
| ـُ | ḍamma | a short u | بُ | bu |
| ـْ | sukūn | no vowel after the letter | بْ | b |
| ـّ | shadda | the letter is doubled | بّ | bb |
| ـً ـٍ ـٌ | tanwīn | an n ending: -an, -in, -un | بً | ban |
Three extra shapes. ء hamza is the glottal stop (the catch in uh-oh), written alone or on a carrier: أ إ ؤ ئ. ة tāʾ marbūṭa ends most feminine words and is said -a (or -at before another word): مَدِينَة madīna, city. ى alif maqṣūra is a long a written like a dotless yāʾ at the end of a word: عَلَى ʿalā, on.
Sun and moon letters. The article al- (the) blends into fourteen "sun letters", ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن: الشَّمْس is said ash-shams, the sun, not al-shams. Before the other fourteen, the "moon letters", the l stays: القَمَر al-qamar, the moon.
Numbers run the other way. Digits are written left to right even inside right-to-left text, and most of the Arab east uses the Eastern Arabic digits ٠ ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩. The Arabic numbers page has both sets with the number words.
One letter, three names. Every miss shows the right one, so a run is also a lesson.
Do you know this one?
Tap an answer, or press 1, 2 or 3
Twenty-eight. Some charts count hamza (ء) as a twenty-ninth, and tāʾ marbūṭa (ة) and alif maqṣūra (ى) are extra shapes rather than letters of their own. All 28 are consonants or long vowels; the short vowels are marks written above or below them.
Yes: Arabic letters, words and lines run from right to left, and a book opens from what an English reader would call the back. Numbers are the exception and are written left to right, even in the middle of an Arabic sentence.
Most learners recognise all 28 letters within one to two weeks of daily practice, and read short vocalized words slowly soon after. The four shapes per letter sound like a lot but share a core, and the dot families cut the work to about seventeen shapes. Reading at speed takes months of exposure, which is what a word a glance on the Lock Screen is for.
Six letters never join the letter after them: ا alif, د dāl, ذ dhāl, ر rāʾ, ز zāy and و wāw. They still join the letter before them, so they have only two shapes, and a word breaks into pieces after each of them.
They decide how the article al- (the) is said. Before the fourteen sun letters (ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن) the l blends into the next sound, so الشَّمْس is ash-shams; before the fourteen moon letters it stays, so القَمَر is al-qamar. The spelling keeps the l either way.
Yes. The app is free on iOS: Beginner is free in full, and every other pack opens with a free preview. Lock&Learn+ is an optional upgrade that opens every pack at once, offered as a yearly plan (with a 3-day free trial) or a monthly plan.